Review: McDonald’s Shamrock Shake

It’s time for St. Patrick’s Day, and with that comes a traditional limited-time drink from McDonald’s, the Shamrock Shake.

The Shamrock Shake was brought to market by McDonald’s in the 1980s. It essentially is a vanilla shake with some mint flavoring brought out around St. Patrick’s Day. For a while it was sold alongside a ice cream sundae with mint-flavored topping as well. It was a big deal back then; not so much today.

McDonald’s went out of their way to advertise the shake, including using the McDonaldland characters. In one commercial, Ronald McDonald and Grimace meet Uncle O’Grimacey, an “Irish” character whose entire purpose was to promote the coming of Shamrock Shakes:

Over time, it’s been rumored that the formula for the Shamrock Shake changed, with Internet opinion hinting that the flavor now is worse than the original. I never had the chance to try an original version, so I cannot personally confirm if that’s the case.

Today, Shamrock Shakes are harder to find. They are no longer widely promoted by the Golden Arches, and their distribution does not seem to be universal. Fortunately, I was able to find one at a nearby McDonald’s location… so I ordered the small (12 oz.) version.

The color of the shake is white with a hint of green. Unless you take the time to mix the green “mint” syrup into the vanilla shake, it remains primarily white. As for the flavor, it starts out mintish, more along the lines of a mouthwash like Scope. It’s tolerable and hints that “yes, this shake is supposed to be mint.” However, the aftertaste is where things go bad, evidencing the syrup/powder flavoring used in the mix. It’s just not very good at this point. Overall, the mint experience is weak, and combined with the poor aftertaste, the Shamrock Shake is really something that should not be partaken beyond the first few sips.

As for what’s actually in this thing, the official nutritional information from McDonald’s website itemizes the following: